Mistakes
by werebunny131
Summary: Mistake: an incorrect, unwise, or unfortunate act or decision caused by bad judgment or a lack of information or care.
1. Yami

Mistakes are not things he attributes to himself.

Not to say that he hasn't made some in his lifetime. Not at all. All people make some mistakes, no matter how powerful they may be. But his mistakes had been few and far between. A card placed too early, too late, or in the wrong place. Misreading an opponent perhaps. Never too disastrous. Nothing that he couldn't make a comeback from.

What happened? How could everything go so very…wrong?

In the span of one day – No. Not even a whole day. In only a few hours, he had made…how many mistakes? Five? Twenty? A hundred?

Or only one? One huge mistake. One that…he could not fix with a card. And one in which there would never be a release from. One mistake that was…Unforgivable.

He had never made a mistake that he had thought was unforgivable before. Even his biggest mistake had been forgiven. After a while that is. That duel with Kaiba…He had only tried to help…

They had melded seamlessly for so long, sometimes he forgot that not everything that _he_ thought was necessary, his partner would think as well. Mercy was more in Yugi then himself. They would have won, but, perhaps his partner had been right. Winning was not always the most important thing. But, so many times it _was._ More often than not winning could mean the difference between life and death.

Or worse.

Mistakes happened. But they should never be this…significant.

He hadn't won. He had lost. Not just the duel, but something…_infinitely_ more important.

Because of a mistake. _His_ mistake.

Only _he _should have to pay, for _his_ mistake.

It wasn't…he couldn't…no…he…it wasn't _fair_…

A single mistake. A mistake that he had to answer for.

But…he hadn't. Yugi had. And he had…_let_ him.

Another mistake.

His first mistake, was getting himself in a situation in which he needed to be saved. He was supposed to be the strong side. The one who did the saving. The hero, even if he didn't deserve the title. His first mistake.

The second mistake, was letting himself be saved.

_He _had made the mistake. _He_ should be the one paying for it. _He_ should not have let his partner save _him_.

But he had. He had dug his own hole, but he had let Yugi jump into it. He had gotten into trouble, but he had _let_ himself be saved. He had taken a coward's way out. _His_ mistake. _His._

Why had Yugi saved _him_? After his mistake…After doing something so…wrong…So…_stupid_. After giving in the darkness that was _always_ there, but had always been…controlled. After he had pushed away his own _partner_…

He had still been saved.

Mercy was always more in his partner than in himself. He couldn't stand stupidity, even in himself. He deserved anything and _everything_ that was coming to him. He had made a mistake. He had lost. He should be punished for it. It was right. It was justified. He deserved it.

He had been saved.

Why?

_Don't do it…don't save me…keep away…it's my fault…I deserve this…I played that card…I made the mistake…_

He had been saved.

His mistake. But then…perhaps…simply losing _himself_ wasn't enough. His mistake was too great for one punishment. Losing only himself? No. He deserved so much worse than that. Everyone he knew…everyone he cared about was fair game. They would all be sacrificed to punish him further. He deserved it. They didn't. Only after they were all gone, and he was alone, would he be able to lose himself. Maybe then they would come back…Yugi…he could not be forgiven. He couldn't…

He had the opportunity to apologize. He took it. Coward. Yugi had saved him and all he could say was 'I'm sorry'? No. Apologizing meant he thought he could be forgiven. There was no forgiving this mistake. He had to do more. Maybe an exchange could be made. He should be taken instead. It was _his_ mistake after all.

The meeting had…not gone as he had expected. Yugi had every right to be angry with him, he just didn't think he _would_ be. It was confusing, how much he felt he deserved to be held responsible for what he had done, and how much it hurt to hear his partner tell him how evil he had been. And then he had wanted to duel! He couldn't fight his best friend! His partner! His other self. His _better_ self…

Yugi would not take no for an answer.

The duel was going…badly. He went all out at first, wanting this over with so he could talk to Yugi. Really _talk_ to him. And then Yugi…his light, his partner, his friend…

Yugi made the same mistake.

But it didn't _seem_ like he was making a mistake. He seemed so sure of himself. Like he had been hoping to draw that infernal card. But why? What if he lost? Can a soul be sealed twice? And worse…if Yugi won…

If he lost another duel, there would be no one to save him. He would be sealed away, and his soul would give the Leviathan all the energy it needed.

Then Yugi would not be saved…

He…he couldn't lose! As much as he wished to somehow make it up to his partner, to give penitence for his mistake, he could not. He had a duty to two worlds. As much as Yugi meant to him, he…he could not save him now.

The attack was unleashed. The trap was activated. His best friend's soul was bound yet again in a prison he did not deserve.

All because of Yami, and his catastrophic mistake.

"_I'll save you! No matter what it takes!"_


	2. Yugi

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It's just a fact of life. To hold one's self up to such high a standard such as 'not ever making mistakes', well…

That just won't work.

Things happen. Cards are drawn, thoughts are…thought, and choices are made. It's just how life works.

Mistakes happen.

And yeah, sometimes…well, sometimes the mistakes are huge. Sometimes, the aftershocks of those mess-ups are…catastrophic.

But that happens.

The point of mistakes are to show people where they went wrong. How, thinking in only one way can backfire. How a single action, or a single card can change everything. How sometimes the easy path isn't the right one. How trying to go it alone, and not listening, can blind you to the truth.

How your actions, and their repercussions, can hurt the ones you care about.

Mistakes show us that, we're not invincible, no matter what ancient power we might possess.

But mistakes, though they hurt, can be forgiven.

But, my friend, I can only forgive you. You have to also forgive yourself.


End file.
